Lay's, Kurkure, Maggi, Thums Up among products seized in FDA raids: Report

The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has raided 10 firms in Navi Mumbai and Noida for allegedly selling counterfeit food products and repackaging expired food items for sale, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

The raids, conducted between August 24 and 29 in coordination with the Thane and Navi Mumbai police, led to the seizure of 4,942 cartons of food products valued at ₹75.21 lakh, the report said, citing the FDA.

Popular brands, including Lay's, Kurkure, Maggi, Knorr, Hellmann's and Thums Up, were among the products allegedly being counterfeited, according to the report.

The FDA said the firms were repackaging expired stocks, altering manufacturing and expiry dates and pasting stickers to change nutritional information on the packages.

The seized products included potato chips and snacks sold under brands such as Lay's, Kurkure, Bingo Mad Angles, Fun Flips and Fun Masala, besides Maggi instant noodles and Knorr mushroom soup.

Ready-to-eat products such as Rasoi Amritsari Paneer Tikka Masala, Dum Aloo, Paneer Bhurji and Dal Makhni, along with Hellmann's mayonnaise and canned beverages including Thums Up and Limca, were also seized, according to the report.

The seven Mumbai-based firms named in the report are Novas Export, Joshi Brothers, Beyond Export, Jamnadas Ruttonsay & Co, Span Impex, Kasturi and Angad Export.

The three Noida-based entities are Bharat International, Anika Export and Aarnika Export, it said.

The FDA also suspended the licence of Sadhana Enterprises in the Turbhe industrial area, according to the report.

The action comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of food products.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on August 29 issued prohibition-of-sale orders against compounded hing manufactured by Everest Food Products Pvt Ltd and Laljee Godhoo and Company (LG Brand Unit) after laboratory tests found samples to be substandard.

The FSSAI said tests of samples collected from the companies' units in Mumbai and from Everest's unit in Umbergaon, Gujarat, showed alcohol-soluble extract levels below the prescribed minimum of 5%.

The regulator also said six varieties of raw hing sampled at the LG unit contained 15-32% starch, against the prescribed maximum of 1%.

The FSSAI directed the two companies to submit action plans to ensure compliance and advised them to voluntarily recall substandard products from the market.